Q:
Hi Dr. Margolies,
I practice in a very rural town which is focused primarily on general
health care. We see some PI/WC and because a lot of our patients
are poor/disabled, we see a lot of Medicaid & Medicare. The patients
(esp. the women) are very poor and for the most part, many of them
are barely high school graduates. We have tailored our talks with
them to the most basic of language, we use a lot of visual aids. But,
what I wanted to ask you was this. I am interested in doing an
outreach program for domestic abuse / rape survivors. I am the only
woman in our group, and we have no staff to speak of, although I do
have people that we use to help with marketing. Do you have any
ideas on how to approach this? The people here are for the most
part illiterate, so a lot of the brochures/written material is lost. If
you are so inclined and have the time, can you email me back with
your thoughts. Thank you in advance for any insight you may have.
A:
Thanks for your e-mail. First off .. marketing is marketing no matter
the size of the city .. just has to be tailored for your specific
demographic farm. If you have my Smart Start Book find it and dust
it off and begin from the beginning reviewing the second half of each
chapter for some marketing ideas. Obviously the material may have
to be adjusted to accommodate the limited patient base with income
but with very creative cash or wellness plans you can do well. As far
as creating a women¼s abuse outreach program you should first start
with the county and state women¼s abuse and rape programs and
hotlines. They may guide you with either written material and/or
staff support. If they have neither but appreciate your concern see if
you can form a county chapter and find some special patients to
assist getting it off the ground. You can possibly start a ground floor
effort. See if you can get some local newspaper and radio/TV folks
aware of your efforts and possibly help you spearhead the program
from your office and/or county/city center or church. Using patients
or a women¼s civic or church group to assist you will be a win-win ..
win for your office exposing new people to your office with some
meetings and helping those who need the help the most.
I am sure there is a state outreach association if not in the county ..
if for some strange reason there is none .. there for sure is a
national group that may welcome your idea to start an outreach
program in your small town. Check the web for some advice or the
local library. Remember .. get some patients involved possibly as a
barter service .. you adjust them and they work with you a few hours.
This is the best advice I can offer you today unless you have some
specific questions.
Have a Great Day and Good Luck
Dr. M